Caffeine doesn’t bother me as much as it does for some people but now that I have to go to sleep at a decent hour most nights to get up early for work, I try to make sure I have a selection of caffeine-free teas for the evenings. So now I am always on the lookout for good caffeine-free options. That is why when I saw this Peach Melba tea by Traillodge Tea in a traveling teabox, I had to give it a try.
This tea is made of organic rooibos, organic honeybush, organic apple bits, organic raspberry bits, organic marigold, and natural flavor. I decided to cold brew it overnight because more often than not, cold brewing tames the base flavors and allows the other ingredients to shine. That was my hope for this tea.
That doesn’t necessarily seem to be the case because there is a lot of honey notes from the rooibos and honeybush. The flavorings are subtle so they are taking back seat to the base which luckily is not medicinal or woody. I do get some raspberry but honestly I am just left wanting more. More raspberry. More peach. Just more flavor overall. If I had blindly tasted this tea, I don’t think I would have determined it was Peach Melba.
As far as rooibos and honeybush teas go, this is not bad but the flavors leave something to be desired. It was an okay drink but by no means Peach Melba. I don’t think this will be added to my line up of caffeine-free teas but it was fun to try.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos/Honeybush
Where to Buy: Traillodge Tea
Description
This is a Trail Lodge Exclusive tea. The inspiration for this herbal tisane came from eating a peach melba sundae, and just like the desert, this tisane is a refreshing treat. The sweet taste of fresh peaches combines perfectly with the tartness of raspberries. It’s as if summer has been captured in a cup of tea. This tisane is great hot or iced. Ingredients: organic rooibos, organic honeybush, organic apple bits, organic raspberry bits, organic marigold, and natural flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Root Beer Rooibos from Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Description:
This tea was made by using some ingredients that were used in old fashioned home made root beer. We added honeybush to the rooibos to give it a natural sweetness. This way you can have an all natural, chemical free alternative to soda. If you do want the extra sweetness found in root beer, just add some sugar or natural sweetner and you will still have a natural treat. Caffeine free. Ingredients: Fair Trade CertifiedTMorganic rooibos, and honeybush, Fair Trade CertifiedTM Organic Whole Cloves, and Organic Cinnamon, Organic Ginger, Organic Star Anise, Orange Peel, and Organic Natural Flavoring.
Learn more about this flavored rooibos here.
Taster’s Review:
This Root Beer Rooibos from Trail Lodge Tea is quite tasty! It’s actually a whole lot better than I anticipated it to be. I like that they chose to use a base of organic rooibos and honeybush, I think that the slightly woody/nutty flavors of these two herbs seem to heighten the overall root beer taste, and the natural honey-esque sweetness makes this a very pleasant beverage.
A quick review of the ingredient list, and one might think that they’re about to drink a chai blend, but, this doesn’t taste like the typical chai, despite the ingredients. It definitely tastes more like root beer than it does a masala chai. The spices used here really do create a very “root beer-ish” kind of taste, and they are skillfully blended to keep the drink from tasting “spicy” – rather, it tastes like … well, like I said, it tastes like root beer! All that’s missing is the bubbly carbonation.
I do think that this root beer taste could be elevated even more if just a touch of spearmint was added to the blend. Not enough to make it minty … just enough to give it that zesty note of root beer. As it is though, it’s really quite tasty. It’s good served hot (even though it does seem a little weird to be drinking a hot cup of root beer) but it’s even tastier iced. If you decide to go ahead and ice this, I recommend adding some sugar (go with turbinado sugar!) to bring out the flavors in the chilled tisane.
If you’re a fan of root beer (and really, who DOESN’T like root beer?), you really should try this. I’m wondering how this would taste if I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make a float … I’ll bet it’s amazing!
Lemon Meringue Tisane from Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Description:
This is truly a classic tea! It makes a great hot or iced tea. We have finally found the perfect lemon tea. This one has a mild and smooth lemon flavor with a hint of creaminess, reminiscent of lemon meringue pie. It is naturally caffeine free. Ingredients: Rooibos, Green Rooibos, Honeybush, Lemon Bits, Calendula and Cornflower Petals, and Flavoring.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This Lemon Meringue Tisane from Trail Lodge Teas is easily one of the better Lemon Meringue Pie teas/tisanes that I’ve tasted. It’s totally YUM!
The base is a combination of red (or oxidized) rooibos, green (or non-oxidized) rooibos, and honeybush. I think that this is a winning combination. I’m not big on rooibos, but, when they’re combined with the honeybush, this seems to soften that sometimes “funky” taste that goes along with rooibos. And since green rooibos is much better tasting than red rooibos … this brings out the fruity character to the rooibos rather than that woodsy/nutty flavor. Nice! The honeybush still offers some of that sweet honey-esque tone and just a hint of nutty taste that accentuates the “pie-like” quality of this tisane.
The lemon is a softer, sweeter lemon, much like the creamy curd filling of a lemon meringue pie. I taste notes of vanilla too, and this brings a meringue-like quality to the cup. And every once in a while, I could swear I taste just a hint of butter that seems to imitate a pie crust like flavor together with the nutty tones of the honeybush.
This blend works together so well. Sweet, lemon-y goodness! A nice dessert-y treat that you can enjoy any time of the day … you can even make it a late night snack since it’s naturally caffeine free!
Black Raspberry Tea Blend from Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Teas
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Description:
This is one of our own tea blends. Green and white tea is combined with black raspberries.The combination of China green and white tea brews up to a light and sweet liquid that combines perfectly with black raspberries. Ingredients: Fair Trade Certified TM Organic China Green Tea, Fair Trade CertifiedTM Organic Pai Mu Tan, and dried black raspberries,and Organic Natural Flavoring
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
YUM! OK, first of all, I have to admit that I found the name a little confusing. I form a lot of pre-tasting conclusions and/or opinions about a tea just by reading the name of the tea, which is probably something I shouldn’t do. But I can’t help it. And when I read “Black Raspberry,” I jumped to the conclusion that this would be a flavored black tea blend. So imagine my surprise when I opened the pouch of this Black Raspberry Tea Blend from Trail Lodge Tea and immediately recognized the Pai Mu Tan and Green Tea leaves! Not so surprising were the big, whole, dried black raspberries … but I expected to find black tea leaves, not white and green tea leaves!
The aroma is positively delicious. It’s one of those fragrant teas that just got my taste buds excited by taking a whiff and taking in the amazing black raspberry notes. My mouth was watering, and I could hardly wait for the three minutes infusion time to pass. (I infused this tea using a low temperature water – just 170°F and steeped the leaves for three minutes, and I’m very pleased with the results!)
This is YUMMY! The green and white teas pair up to create a delicious base that is smooth and slightly creamy. The creamy notes accentuated the raspberry tones very well. The tea tastes a little vegetative, a little earthy, and very crisp and refreshing! It has a light taste that sort of dances over the palate; it’s invigorating … but not in the same way that a black tea invigorates and energizes… this is more of a gentle, inspiring invigoration. Like a sweet cleansing of the palate.
The raspberry is the star of this show, but, even though it is the “key note” here, it does not overwhelm the base of green and white teas. Trail Lodge Tea has achieved a delightful balance with this tea. This is one of the nicest raspberry teas I’ve tasted in a while. The raspberry is sweet yet tart, and there is that tingly, tart note that rests on the palate in the aftertaste … but, it isn’t as powerful as *other* raspberry teas tend to be. And as one who is not typically a big fan of tartness, I find this gentle tingly sensation to be quite refreshing and enjoyable.
My only complaint? This tea disappeared way too quickly from my teacup! It is one of those teas that I just can’t seem to stop sipping until it’s gone! Delicious!
Mexican Cocoa Rooibos Blend from Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos & Honeybush
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tisane Description:
Mexican Cocoa Rooibos is a Trail Lodge exclusive herbal tisane. You’ll feel like you’re having a Mexican Fiesta when you sip this tea. It’s a rooibos and honeybush blend with the perfect amount of cocoa and chilli. There’s just enough chilli to give it a little kick, and it will help warm you up an a cool day. Add milk for an extra special treat. Ingredients: Organic Rooibos, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Honeybush, Organic Cacao Bits, Chocolate Seeds, Organic Safflower, Organic Chili Flakes and Natural Flavor.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This Mexican Cocoa Rooibos Blend from Trail Lodge Tea is seriously YUMMY! I’m not always big on rooibos, but, I find this blend to be very good, and I attribute this to a couple of factors: first, the rooibos used in this blend is organic rooibos, and I’ve found that there is a notable difference in taste between organic rooibos and conventionally grown rooibos. Second, the base of this tisane is crafted not just of organic rooibos but organic honeybush as well, and I find that tisanes created using both of these South African herbs are very tasty.
And … let us NOT forget about the CHOCOLATE! This blend has lots of chocolate-y flavor, enough to bring a big smile to this chocoholic’s face. I also love the fact that there is a touch of spice from the chili pepper flakes in this blend. There is just enough of the pepper flakes to add a gentle warmth that gradually increases, offering a very soft “burning” sensation in the throat without becoming too spicy or hot. I like that gentle warmth that radiates in the throat, and I LOVE the contrast of the spicy notes with the sweet, rich chocolate flavor.
The spice is further accentuated with the addition of cinnamon … adding a touch more warm spice but also a nice hint of sweetness to the cup. I like the way the cinnamon is represented in this tisane … there is a pleasing cinnamon note that gives the overall cup a very satisfying “Mexican Cocoa” kind of flavor … but they didn’t go overboard with the cinnamon. Cinnamon can often be a selfish spice in blends – but it’s not like that with this blend, and I applaud Trail Lodge Tea for managing to keep this tisane so nicely balanced.
I also applaud Trail Lodge Tea for going the extra mile with this tisane, and turning it into a “charitea” – for every 2 ounces of this tisane that is purchased, a dollar is donated to the “Ninos of Mexico.” Here’s what Trail Lodge Tea says about this charitea:
Trail Lodge Tea now has a new “charitea” that is also are own exclusive blend. It’s called Mexican Cocoa Rooibos. You will feel like you are having a Mexican Fiesta when you sip this tea. It is made of a blend of rooibos and honeybush with just the right combination of chocolate, chili, and flavoring as well as other high quality ingredients. Trail Lodge tea is donating a portion of every sale of this tea to Ninos de Mexico. That’s why we call it a “charitea”. Ninos de Mexico is a wonderful Christian Mission that’s main purpose is to help orphaned and at-risk children living in the Mexico City area. They do this by raising children in loving Christian homes and providing the children with medical care and education. The mission currently runs four homes for children, a medical clinic, and a private school. So you can enjoy some delicious tea and help disadvantaged children at the same time. Click the link below to learn more about Ninos de Mexico or go to the herbal tea page to order some Mexican Cocoa Rooibos.
I like this tisane … not only for its amazing chocolate flavor and warm spice notes … and not only because its all ORGANIC … but also because when I sip it, I know that there are children who are benefiting from this charitable organization.